AP® Computer Science A glossary
Recursion
Also called: recursive method
Course: AP® Computer Science A Shows up in: Unit 4: Data Collections
A form of repetition in which a method calls itself; it needs at least one base case and at least one recursive call.
Appears in the course and exam description (CED): 4.16.A.14.16.A.24.16.A.34.17.A.1
A recursive method calls itself with parameter values that move toward a base case. Each call has its own parameters and local variables. Any recursive solution can also be written with a loop. On the AP® exam you trace recursive methods; writing them is not required.
Example
public static int sumDigits(int n)
{
if (n < 10)
{
return n; // base case
}
return n % 10 + sumDigits(n / 10); // recursive call
}